Lilith

Lilith is a collaborative danceplay by Gary Gordon and Reza de Wet (1952-2012).

The original text

The text written by Reza de Wet, and the performance created by Gordon and the cast, are based on the story of Adam and the mythical character "Lilith", according to Jewish folklore Adam's first wife, who betrays Adam.

The text inverts the traditional version of the original story to make Lilith the vengeful betrayed one and Adam the betrayer. The work thus opens with what may be construed as the thematic motto for the play:

"Beautiful Lilith, so they say, forlorn and betrayed by her husband, Adam, went away to live under the sea until, on a black night, hanging hard to the dark with her hands, and pushing against it with her feet, Lilith gave birth to the moon." (De Wet, 1998)

According to Praeg (2018), in exploring this theme the work "seeks to evoke an archaic and archetypal underworld", while simultaneously contemporising the narrative through a courtroom scene where a modern couple are engaged in divorce proceedings.

The text of the script, and a description of the work by Juanita Finestone-Praeg, has been published in Physical Intelligence Volume 1: Experiments in Physical Theatre (First Physical Theatre Company, 2002).